This invention relates to upright vacuum cleaners and, more particularly, to an upper hose assembly for such a vacuum cleaner.
Upright vacuum cleaners generally comprise a head portion including a motor driven fan for producing suction and a suction inlet nozzle in fluid communication with the fan. The head is typically provided with wheels for movable support on a floor surface to be cleaned. A handle is usually pivotally mounted to the cleaner head so that the operator may control movement of the vacuum cleaner along the floor surface. The cleaner head includes a fan discharge port for discharging dirt laden air collected from the floor surface as a result of the suction produced by the fan and the handle typically supports a dirt collecting container, such as a disposable filter bag or the like, to which the dirt laden air is directed for collection therein of the dirt. Accordingly, a conduit must be provided from the fan discharge port to an intake port of the dirt collecting container. Since the dirt collecting container is mounted on the handle which in turn is pivotally mounted on the cleaner head, there will be relative movement between the fan discharge port of the cleaner head and the intake port of the dirt collecting container. Therefore, the conduit between these two ports must be capable of accommodating such movement.
In the past, a flexible hose has been used as the conduit. In particular, such hose has been constructed as an undulating bellows so that it can both bend and change in length to adapt for the changing spatial relationship between the discharge and intake ports. U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,937 shows such a flexible bellows hose installed in a vacuum cleaner which may be operated in an upright mode. Specifically, although not disclosed in full detail in the referenced patent, the intake port includes an internally threaded intake duct and the upper end of the hose is formed with an external spiral rib extending a sufficient distance from that upper end and of appropriate pitch to act as an external thread for matingly engaging the upper end of the hose with the intake duct. The fan discharge port includes a rigid tube stub having a circumferential rib and in order to attach the hose thereto the lower end of the hose is forced over the stub so that the rib engages one of the undulations of the hose. This is done at the time of assembly of the vacuum cleaner in the manufacturing facility, the hose being adapted for permanent installation in this manner. However, the hose is of reduced dimension relative to the suction inlet nozzle of the cleaner head so that items picked up by the vacuum cleaner can become lodged in the reduced diameter hose and trapped by the undulations therein. This sometimes results in a clogging of the hose, making the vacuum cleaner inoperative for its intended purpose. To clear such a blockage, the operator has been forced to make a difficult manual manipulation of the hose to unthread it at its upper end and forcibly remove it from its engagement at its lower end. Some operators have been unable to effect such manipulation while others have damaged the hose during its removal and subsequent reinstallation.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved hose assembly which is more readily adaptable for operator manipulation in removal and installation thereof.
It is another object of this invention to provide such an assembly which, when installed, is securely engaged and not subject to inadvertent removal.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such an assembly which may be retrofit onto the existing vacuum cleaner construction so that it can readily replace hoses on previously manufactured cleaners.